Narrative Example
As an upcoming businessman COVID-19 has forced me to make some extremely difficult choices and sacrifices. I have constantly struggled internally to figure out how I could adapt or if it was just time to give up. My first choice was to go store to store in an effort to make sales and spread my business name. When the pandemic first started, I spent days going from Gas stations, smoke shops, convenience stores, mom and pop shops, and anywhere and everywhere else I thought that there might be someone interested in purchasing my product. I spent countless days and hours pounding the pavement, but it wasn’t enough.
I realized that if I was going to keep moving forward, I needed to find new ways to increase my sales. I learned how to create a website on YouTube and my nights were filled with making that come to life. I used my unemployment checks to buy the supplies and materials needed in order to keep my product going. A lot of my vendors were shutting down, so I had to order as far as California, pay expensive shipping costs, and wait days for delivery. The reception of my business has been well received here in Springfield. I signed up for ABBP and met businessmen and women here who would point me in the right direction. During the first few months of the pandemic, I was met with so many ‘No's’. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any type of funding assistance from any of the pandemic assistance programs. Times change and here I sat waiting and struggling. I am proud to see the work I have been putting in paying off, a true testament of hard work and perseverance. But I’m still very much in the hole financially and I need assistance if I’m going to not only survive but also work towards thriving.